October 16, 2024

Artist of the Month: James Downham (October) / Artiste du mois: James Downham

CMAOntario Artist of the Month: James Downham Contributing Writer: Matt Ersnaught For a guy named Downham, there’s a lot of “Up” in his life lately. James has not one… not two… but three Ontario hometowns: Pembroke, Picton and now, Stratford. James was the winner of Season 2 of The Shot – a web-based talent search show – and was selected from thousands of applicants as one of only 14 artists to participate in The Shot: Canada vs. USA. James also spent over a decade performing in a Tim McGraw tribute act before turning his attention back to original music. In April of 2023, Downham released his “The Long Way Home” album, from which the singles “One Mile at a Time”, “Raised On”, “Wine & Whiskey” […]
July 14, 2023

Artist of the Month: Augusta Ray

At the young age of 9, Augusta Ray first began her musical journey singing opera. She was quickly recognized as a child prodigy, wowing her audiences as she performed in three languages. Growing up a fan of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Shania Twain, Augusta formed the sound of her unique country-rock style from unique influences. Known to friends and fans as “Gus”, Augusta Ray grew up in Toronto, and has been travelling between there and Nashville for the past 9 years, performing to Canadian and American country-rock fans. Some career highlights for Ray include sharing the stage with Trace Atkins, Brett Kissel, Tim Hicks, Jess Moskaluke and several others. Gus recently released a new single: “Your Ex”. In a press release, she explains – […]
June 12, 2023

Artist of the Month: Parker Graye

Parker Graye has been on a mission to make country music sad again and I think it’s safe to say, mission accomplished. Songs like “Do Over”, “Before You Leave”, and “Last Time” introduced us to the queen of Saddies for the Baddies, and Parker Graye has been opening her heart to listeners ever since. Growing up in Orillia, Ontario, Parker Graye’s main musical influence came from her musically inclined aunt. Obsessed with live performance from a young age, Parker would spend her childhood evenings performing to an imaginary packed out stadium in the basement. After spending a few years in Banff as a snowboarder, she would begin her journey as a singer-songwriter when she moved to Vancouver in 2010. Parker would spend time across indie […]
May 10, 2023

Artist of the Month: Amanda Jordan

Measured in both kilometers and miles, there’s a long strip of asphalt between Smiths Falls and Nashville and you’ll find Amanda Jordan at the south end of it. Like many Canadian country artists, she’s hooked up with talented locals to craft an impressive career path, attracting both the modern and traditional country listener. 2021 saw her two singles, “Pretty Girl” & “Love You To Pieces” amass over half a million streams collectively. Setting the stage for 2022, she finished the year strong, landing features on Spotify’s Best Country Songs of 2021 Canada and Fresh Finds Country: Best of 2021.   But Amanda’s turning out more than music – a quick glance at some online data reveals her other life in acting. She was cast as a […]
April 13, 2023

Artiste du mois / Artist of the Month: Kristine St-Pierre

Kristine St-Pierre est une auteure-compositrice-interprète à la voix de velours. Cette chansonnière au coeur voyageur charme son public avec ses mélodies accrocheuses et l’authenticité de ses textes. Connue pour son aisance sur scène, des textes qui nous interpellent et sa voix mémorable, Kristine St-Pierre propose une musique remplie d’émotion, d’espoir et de force. Suite à la sortie d’un EP en 2010 et de l’album Call Me Crazy en 2012, elle lance La promesse en 2017, un premier opus tout en français. L’album lui mérite une nomination au Prix de la musique folk canadienne dans la catégorie « Auteur-compositeur francophone de l’année ». Elle a également récolté plusieurs nominations aux CMAOntario Awards et a performé au Gala 2022. De concert avec sa carrière, Kristine St-Pierre prête […]
March 8, 2023

Artist of the Month: Roslyn Witter

It was back in 2014 when Roslyn Witter had the experience of a lifetime that assured her that she was on right career path. She signed with Slaight Music and won a singing contest that was hosted by a radio station. The contest awarded her the incredible opportunity to sing a duet with Keith Urban for his then-upcoming concert in Hamilton, ON. The major country icon recognized her talent by kneeling in appreciation and surprising her with an autographed guitar that he later mailed to her. The guitar is a permanent display in her living room! Witter not only grew up appreciating country music; she was born into it. Her Dad, Jim Witter, had ten Top 10 hits (“Distant Drum”, “Everything and More” and “Stolen […]
February 8, 2023

Artist of the Month: Rosewood Ave

From the twang-thang sound flowing out of husband/wife duo Rosewood Ave, it would be easy to think there’s a spiritual connection between Iroquois Falls, ON and the US Midwest, but somehow, Dave and Sabrina’s combined DNA just comes out that way. And like many good stories, it all started with a disaster. A paper mill shutdown can’t be classified as a good thing, but it relocated Dave’s family into a house across the street (or should we say… Ave?) from Sabrina’s and it didn’t take long for the sparks to fly. The value-add showed up when they discovered their voices meshed over shared musical taste. They married in 2017 and two years later, had become confident enough in their musical abilities to approach some music […]
January 17, 2023

Artist of the Month: Dayna Reid

Dayna Reid made her grand entrance to the country music scene at CCMA’s Country Music Week 2022. This was followed by the release of her debut EP, “Back To The Trailer”, later that month. Calling Elmvale, Ontario, home, Dayna grew up absolutely passionate about music. Her first performance for a crowd was the school talent show in grade two, where she performed Smash Mouth’s “All Star”. And look at her now: “Hey Dayna, you’re a rockstar.” Feeling like a career in music was out of reach, she turned to her second passion for a career – a deep love for helping others. Studying Autism Behavioural Studies, she worked with children and adults with autism. Dayna holds her work close to her heart, as her younger […]
December 21, 2022

Artist of the Month: Josh Ross

How many artists can claim that their musical career was kickstarted by two surgeries? Josh Ross can actually say that. While attending Western University on a football scholarship, Josh sustained enough bangs and crunches to land him in the OR. That tossed his dream of playing in the CFL out the window and while recovering, he found himself immersed deeper and deeper into music, including a lot of Steve Earle. His initial foray was the band “Silver Lining”, which he formed with another Western U football player. Apparently, there wasn’t enough silver from that lining to keep his fridge full, so Ross took a job in construction management while plotting his path as a solo artist. Ross refined some solo skills by entering music competitions […]
November 9, 2022

Artist of the Month: Matthew Runaway

Raised on a cattle-and-crops farm in Perth, ON, Matthew Runaway is rapidly gaining recognition in the music industry! Matthew has been immersed in the music industry for years. In his early 20s, he toured across North America with his EDM rock band, Aspire. Given the success of that band, he was encouraged to continue pursuing singing and songwriting in the country genre. Luckily for him, this added to his unique style and attracted a diverse fanbase. His latest release, “Missing Sweater”, was released to radio on Sept 26, 2022 and has reached Top 10 for CanCon downloads. If you haven’t seen the visualizer for the song, it showcases the beautiful Nashville skyline at dawn, as well as snapshots of landmarks the city is known for. […]
October 12, 2022

Artiste du mois / Artist of the Month: Reney Ray

(English version follows) Récipiendaire du prix de l’artiste francophone de l’année au CMAOntario Awards 2022, Reney Ray est une multi-instrumentiste et auteure-compositrice-interprète à la plume aussi décomplexée que sensible. L’année 2023 s’annonce déjà très occupée pour l’auteur-compositrice de Val-Rita, qui a déjà annoncé 2 nouveaux albums : Un 3e album francophone qui sera intitulé « Dodge Ram van » et un 2e album anglophone nommé « You can call me Ray ». Comme tout ses projets, ces albums seront entièrement réalisés par l’artiste ou co-réalisé avec des réalisateurs de renom, comme Ricky Paquette et John-Anthony Gagnon-Robinette. Son dernier album « À l’ouest du réel » lui a d’ailleurs valu le prix d’Auteur-compositeur de l’année aux Canadian Folk Music Awards. Un talent reconnu à travers l’industrie, puisque […]
September 6, 2022

Artist of the Month: Nick Hedden

Nick Hedden is a Windsor, Ontario native who first picked up the guitar at just five years old. Participating in talent shows and school musicals immersed him in a world of music from a young age. Taking time away from music to focus on school, he returned to music after seven years to pursue his education. He holds a Masters Degree in Criminology. The “aha” moment for Nick happened during his first writing session, surrounded by seasoned writers from Nashville. During this session, he and his co-writers wrote one of Nick’s favourite songs; in that moment, he realized that he could do this for a living as well. Leaning in as a performer and songwriter, Nick started to invest in his career as an artist […]
August 4, 2022

Artist of the Month: Kelly Prescott

What makes outstanding talent – nature or nurture? Kelly Prescott is an example for considering a balance of both as the optimum recipe. Kelly’s parents, Tracey Brown and Randall Prescott, are highly respected Canadian country royalty, so Kelly has had quality music in her life since before birth. Kelly and brother Kaylen inevitably teamed up to form the duo “Prescott”, and even though Kelly went on to forge her own career with the 2016 solo EP “Hillbilly Jewels”, Kaylen teamed up with Kelly again to produce her “Love Wins” release – a six song collection with co-writes from venerable songwriters Donovan Woods and Patricia Conroy. “Love Wins” also featured guest vocals from Shawn Austin and Jessica Mitchell, but one listen to Kelly’s rich voice will […]